Art and Graphic Design Education

Create Art From Your Vacation Photos…

Ron Plante — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:59:43 +0000

Materials you’ll need to create art from your vacation photos. You will need: Your favorite watercolor stuff A printout of the picture that you’re going to use as reference (grayscale or color) A. Drawing and tracing stuff HB and 2B graphite or charcoal pencils (optional graphite bar or carpenter’s pencil) Kneaded eraser B. Paper, Good grade watercolor paper, cold

Why not do it yourself?

Jim Patton — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:24:45 +0000

Art and Graphic Design – Why not teach yourself?

The value of an instructor-led, on-line art course.

Self-learning opportunities abound in today’s world of web surfing, You Tubing, Wikipedia-ing (is that a word?), etc. Some folks think that paying to take

Artist, Designer, Dinosaur

Jim Patton — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:14:43 +0000

Study, feet with rose - Tiger Mug - The Artist, Kristoff

A Dinosaur…that’s what I am!

An interview with Kristoff

I recently spent some time doing one of my favorite things, talking with artist, Kristoff (nee, Brian Davis). Years ago, Kristoff was a rookie designer making his way creatively in my graphic design studio. Though we have always shared a love for the unplugged, he was actually most responsible for dragging yours truly into the digital era. Kristoff now lives in New Hampshire and has been successful promoting and selling his art on-line, most notably, on eBay. – Le Grand Fromage Why do you refer to yourself as a dinosaur? Rubylith, wax machine, rapidographs, darkroom, typesetting department, and a honking big drafting table should give you enough clues to tell you when I started in the graphic arts business. Times and techniques change… but the creature

Graphic design for hand-held devices

Jim Patton — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:46:09 +0000

“Honey, I shrunk the desktop!”

Graphic design is all about visual communication. Visual Communication is all about exactly that, communicating a visual message for ourselves, or our clients. We, as designers, are charged with presenting the client’s message in a unique, creative and visually pleasing way. Grab their attention and keep it! In a relatively short period of time, we’ve gone from designing for ink-on-paper media to the transparent computer screen. Now, it seems we must re-think our design elements and principles again, to adjust to The Incredible Shrinking Screen. The office walls have been knocked down and business, learning and even playing games has become mobile. Our audience is more frequently leaving their laptop at home and surfing the web, emailing, tweeting and downloading books and articles to

Unplugged Skills Are Still Important

Jim Patton — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:54:58 +0000

Graphic Design Basics

Unplugged Skills Are Still Important

From Gutenberg to Gates – From The Pen To The Mouse

By Ron Plante, Le Grand Fromage

With the advent of the graphics electronic age, in the 1980’s, designers have experienced a major shift in the methods we use to exercise our craft.

The Art Design Curriculum

Jim Patton — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:15:34 +0000

Click the Art Design Curriculum article to check out The A-D Village list of potential course offerings. We will offer educational, informative and fun classes for everyone. Whether you’re a seasoned professional, a hobbyist, digital designer or unplugged artist, you’ll find something here to help you develop or sharpen your skills. Not just the how-tos, but also the whys. Courses in art and design theory and practice, like: Drawing, Painting, Design Software, Typography, Layout… it’s all here. We welcome your comments and input; so if you don’t see a course you’d like to take, let us know. We’re always looking for new and fun ideas.

Basics of Graphic Design – Why unplugged first?

Jim Patton — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:36:42 +0000

Why should we do the unplugged steps before launching the computer? Because design is a visual business, art is a visual endeavor and visual fields require visual thinking. The right side of the brain needs to be tapped and the creative pump needs to be primed.

Welcome to our Village!

Jim Patton — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:23:03 +0000

This is an exciting time for the Art-Design Village. Visit often for frequent updates and interesting news on all things Art and Design. In the coming months, we'll publish many informative articles on skills, tips, resources and opportunities for the Art and Graphic Design fields. Whether you're an amateur "Sunday painter" or a pro, you'll find our Village to be a useful and enjoyable place to visit. Join us in chats, read our articles, send your work for critiquing and register in our on-line classes to being soon. We welcome your thoughts and comments and invite you to become a Villager by registering at right.